The South (of Ireland)

The last leg of our journey was a shorter trip from Dingle back to Dublin, although with plenty of stops in between. Our first stop was the famous Blarney Castle, atop which rests the Blarney Stone. One of the blessings supposedly bestowed upon everyone who kisses the stone is the "gift of gab," but you can be the judge on that one. Whether you're blessed with it or not, it's still something you have to do when you visit Ireland. The rumor that the locals pee on it was unsubstantiated, although they had a bottle of cleaning solution and a towel next to it, so we chanced it. They don't tell you until you get to the top, however, that you actually have to lie on your back, hold onto a bar, and lean out over the edge of the castle wall in order to actually kiss it. It's one guy's job to literally stand there and give you instructions on how to best accomplish this. Beautiful castle though and worth the stop, (and worth the fee to get in... don't forget to check out the gardens, one of which is full of poisonous plants!)

Our next stop was in Cork, which we really wanted to spend more time in. If you're like us, the New York Times Article 36 Hours in Cork will be longer than we had to spend there. Don't miss the English Market, however, where you can sample the breads, cheeses, and black pudding. We stocked up on soda bread while we were there, and wish we had stayed longer.

Our next stop was our next B&B, Killiane Castle, where we stayed because of Amanda's desire to stay in an old castle. We started off thinking of staying at Ashford Castle to satisfy the urge , but looking at their 'special deals' starting at 298 GBP (per person), we rethought our decision and opted instead for a cozier place in County Wexford.

This is a nice place to stay, although the rooms weren't anything special. The nice part of staying here was the surrounding countryside and working farm, where you can go on walks and check out the livestock. There's also a driving range nearby. Clean rooms and a great breakfast. Very relaxing, although we could only spare a night.

Our last stop on our trip back to Dublin was the Glendalough Monastery. This old Christian monastery was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th Century and is set in the beautiful Wicklow Mountains, and, (like everywhere else we stayed) we wish we could have stayed longer. The monastery has a round tower and a 12th Century stone church on site, although the roof is gone from the main chapel. Hoping to find some O'Darraghs that could be possible ancestors of Amanda's family, all we could find in the large cemetery were Byrnes, the surname of some good friends.

Finally, we headed back for Dublin. We arrived at Quince Cottage, on the West side of Dublin in Sandyford, and headed back into the city for one last pint at O'Neill's (reviewed in the Dublin post). The owners at Quince Cottage are some of the nicest we've met on the trip. The website promises tea and coffee with treats on arrival, and they don't disappoint. The owner let us settle in, plan out our last evening, and even drove us to the Laus stop so we could take the train into town. The last drink I had was a Guinness, although I doubt we'll be able to stay away for long. We went for our 5th year anniversary, and are thinking of going back for our 10th. I'm sure we could retrace the journey and have an amazing time, or not go a single repeat stop and still have a great trip.

If you go to any of the places we did, be sure to leave a comment! Happy traveling.

~Slainte

Dingle

Day 1
Having spent the night in Kinvara, we woke up ready to head out to the Aran Islands, the Gaelic-speaking islands off the West coast of Ireland. We went to Inish Oirr, the smallest of the three, and took the Happy Hooker from the city of Doolin (make sure to book ferry rides ahead of time) out to Inis Oirr, from which you could then continue on to the larger islands, which we didn't have time to do. Spend some time here and rent a bike, ride around the island, see the ruins and thatch houses, then have some lunch at the local pub, Tigh Ned, where you may see a spontaneous table dance!

We didn't spend the night here, however, although would have enjoyed the slower pace and relaxation had we had 4 weeks as opposed to 11 days. Still, it's worth seeing one of the islands while you're out here. Also, be sure to catch a glimpse of the spectacular Cliffs of Moher, which you can see on the ferry ride back into Doolin. From there, we left and went down to Dingle, where we were staying for 3 nights and could relax in town a bit, and Dingle (both the town and the Peninsula) is a great place to relax. That night we checked into the place we were staying for the next few nights, The Lighthouse, probably the nicest of the B&Bs we stayed at on the trip. It's above the town, but within walking distance; it has beautiful rooms that are nicely furnished and very clean; they serve great breakfast and the owners are very hospitable. Definitely recommend it!

That night we had dinner at the Dingle Pub, a touristy pub, but one that has a great atmosphere and good traditional music.

Day 2
Dingle has become the new "Kerry" of the West, and there's even a less touristy "Ring of Dingle" that we drove around rather than the more popular Ring of Kerry. The roads are small, though, and pulling over for the touring buses is a must. Still, going out to explore is definitely worth it.The following are some examples of the things you can see that we enjoyed as well.

One of the great things about Ireland is you can pull over and see medieval architecture or the ruins of a monastic community just sitting in a field with no one around. Kilmakedar Monastery is a great example of such a place, and you should definitely make this 7th Century church ruins a driving destination. Check out the sundial and the Ogham Stones and walk through the Romanesque Arch the serves as the doorway to the church.

Another great place to see is the Gallarus Oratory, where you can see a great example of dry-stone fit architecture of a 7th or 8th century Christian church. This one's not free, but it's worth seeing nonetheless.

Another great destination is the Creek of St. Brendan, where St. Brendan allegedly left from in order to spread the Gospel in the "land to the West," and you can read about his amazing journey, which many believe led him to North America well before even the Viking explorers.

Be sure to see the "beehive" huts at Dunbeg Fort as well. You have to pay the local farmer to gain access, but you get to walk around with the grazing sheep at this ancient stone-structure community and see the beehives that are an example of how people lived during the Iron Age in Ireland.

Don't miss stopping at a side-of-the-road spot called Clogher Head on the Ring of Dingle, which gives you amazing views of the Atlantic and the Three Sisters mountains (in the background on the right). You'll want to stay for a while and listen to the ocean. It's amazing how open this area is, so be careful, there are none of the rails that you would expect to see in a similar location in the US.


You could spend a week in the Dingle Peninsula and not see everything it has to offer, so take some time to research your options to determine what you really want to see. The last night Amanda talked me into going up and playing with traveling musician at Murphy's Pub (also a B&B) in downtown Dingle. I did a terrible job, but the singer was nice and I'll never forget singing "Mr. Valentine's Dead" in a traditional Irish pub. You're sure to find your own unforgettable experiences in Dingle as well!

Northern Ireland

If you know nothing about the history of Ireland (and yes, I did just link you to Wikipedia... it's actually a pretty decent article though), you'll know they've had a wee bit of trouble in the past, particularly in the North. In fact, those times are referred to as "The Troubles," and they had to do with a long history of Catholic and Protestant fighting (or, more accurately, Irish and British fighting) over who gets to control the country. You should at least read up about this when traveling, because it makes the whole experience much more interesting.

When you travel into the North of Ireland, you'll know right away that you're in another country. There are no "Goodbye, Ireland" or "Welcome to Great Britain" signs to see like I've come to expect when I leave Ohio and enter Indiana. There was, however, a bar we saw upon entering the United Kingdom that was emblazoned with Red, White, and Blue and surrounded by Union Jacks, one of which had a picture of the Queen on it. The picture on the left is of one of the local Protestant defense leagues, which are famous for lighting bonfires celebrating the British victory at the Battle of the Boyne, which, coincidentally, happens to be viewed by the notably larger Catholic community in Ireland as the battle in which the Irish completely lost control of their country to the Brits. Then there are the marches. A friend of mine from Belfast said the Irish calendar starts with January, February, March, March, and March... The Orange Order (read "Protestants") march through largely Catholic neighborhoods celebrating this English victory, which tends not to go over well with the Catholic community. Think rebel flag being flown in Detroit.

Still, after the Good Friday Agreements, most of the country has accepted the fact that the British control the North (not withstanding a small, radical minority who haven't), and the most it will mean for you will be that you'll need to exchange some Euros for British Pounds and the speed limit will go from Kilometers per hour to Miles, which is much better anyways. Going to the North is worth the small inconvenience by far, however, and you shouldn't skip it.

Going to the North had a special significance for me, as family research revealed that I was of the "Orange Irish" heritage, so we stopped in a town that my ancestors supposedly lived in. I'm not recommending you go here, but Tobermore was one place I had to say I'd visited. There are a lot of "Boones" in the graveyard, and yes, Daniel Boone was of Scotch-Irish heritage, so who knows?

After stopping in Tobermore, we drove up the Antrim Coast to see the Giant's Causeway, allegedly built by Irish warrior Finn McCool and used as stepping stones for the feuding giants of Ireland and Scotland. It's definitely amazing to see the formations in the earth, and after you're done you can go visit the Bushmills Distillery, just three miles away in the town of Bushmills. We didn't have time to go, but we made sure to get a bottle of Bushmills before we left.

One of the great things about Ireland is all of the unplanned smaller stops. We found Dunluce Castle that way, which is an amazing castle ruins that is literally falling into the sea. It's still mostly there, however, and was probably one of our favorite stops on the trip, something you just have to see to fully appreciate.

Our final destination for the day of travel was the next B&B, Breezemount Guest House in Coleraine, which is in the province of Ulster. It was a spacious room with a small kitchenette, which was nice, as most places closed surprisingly early. Eating someplace nice on our anniversary was next to impossible, as everyplace was already closed by six! We ended up eating at "Cactus Jack's," which wasn't exactly what we had in mind. Nonetheless the room was nice, although breakfast here could have been better. Not sure anywhere after here lived up to the Irish breakfasts we had in Dublin.

Day 2
Coleraine is a great place to stay and see a lot of the North. On our first full day there we wanted to visit the beautiful Mourne Mountains, where C.S. Lewis liked to visit and were the inspiration behind The Chronicles of Narnia. If you go, make the Silent Springs reservoir your main destination. This reservoir was designed to provide water for Belfast, and is in a beautiful location. You'll also enjoy getting stopped by some sheep herding along the way and see a lot of stone fences along the roads. There's also a great little cafe, the Silent Valley Cafe, which has amazing views and great bakery items. Nice place to have tea.

That, however, was in the afternoon. In the morning we headed for Newcastle, a coastal town that has great shops and even better scenery. It's a good place to do some shopping and have some really good fish and chips. You can walk along the beach there and find some nice mementos of your trip.

That night while watching a local TV station, I saw the show "Ultimate Ulster," which listed the top ten votes by locals for weekend getaways. The Mourne Mountains were #9, Newcastle was #3, and Giant's Causeway was #2, so I guess we did all right for our first day out.

Day 3
Last night was our last night in Coleraine on the marathon of Ireland that we were on, so this day saw us visiting and traveling, which wasn't too stressful as long as you leave enough time to see the things you want to see. Before leaving the North, I wanted to see the town of Londonderry, or Derry, depending on whether you're Protestant or Catholic. Aside from the fact that one of my ancestors came over to the US from here, it's also a very historic town for many reasons. Protestant pride and Catholic demands for independence and civil rights have clashed here for many years, including the infamous "Bloody Sunday," where Catholics demanding their civil rights were gunned down by a British paratroop regiment in 1972. Still, it's a very cool town where we stumbled upon an historic re-enactment, saw the amazing wall around the city and toured the local shops. While leaving the town you will see a very cool mural on the side of one of the Catholic apartment complexes that reads: "Now Entering Free Derry," a reminder that under the surface, tensions remain.

After that we ventured haphazardly towards our final destination for the day: Kinvara.

Upon leaving the North we stopped at the church where W.B. Yeats is buried, in Drumcliffe, County Sligo. You can read his famous self-written epitaph and walk the grounds of the church, which was the site of an ancient monastery founded by St. Columba, the famous Irish missionary who took Christianity to the Picts in Scotland in the 500s AD. There is an amazing 10th Century stone High Cross (pictured left) with biblical scenes carved into it next to the cemetery, and a great example of the round towers that are found throughout Ireland, which served as places of refuge from the Viking raiders who tore through the island in the 800s and on into the next millennium.

The last leg of the journey to Kinvara consisted largely of beautiful scenery and short stops, with one of those stops being an 11th century church that lay in ruins in County Sligo. Take as many of these unplanned stops as possible! We did, however, have one last surprise before arriving at our final destination for the night when we heard our GPS tell us to "take the ferry" after driving for a few hours. We lucked out and ended up getting the last ferry of the day across a large harbor and arrived safely in Kinvara in time for dinner. We chose to stay in Kinvara as a break between the long trip from the North of Ireland down to the Dingle Peninsula, but had we known how nice the town was, or the fact that it is one of the go-to spots for traditional Irish music, we would have planned on being here an extra day. We had a bite to eat, however, and spent the night at the Clareview House, a nice B&B with friendly owners, although a little too far from town to walk.

We ventured into town for dinner and ate at the Pier Head, a very nice restaurant overlooking the harbor where we struck up a conversation with a family originally from Great Britain, but now living in New Zealand. It seemed that Kinvara was a great place to meet fellow travelers, as we went down to Connolly's, a local pub, to hear some traditional music and met a couple from Vermont who was biking across Ireland.

After a long day it was time to head back, get some rest, then wake up and head down even further South to the town of Dingle.

Dublin

Day 1
We left the Dayton International Airport on July 18th, arriving (with some serious jet lag) on July 20th in the AM. Downloading some movies on the iPod before the flight really helped pass the time. A tip we got from some friends was to spend the rest of the day doing sightseeing and going to bed with the rest of the country. It makes for a long first day, but adjusting to the schedule is much easier after it.

The first challenge was getting our car, which we needed in order to get from the airport to our B&B. In hindsight, we would have taken a bus to our B&B and only gotten a rental car after our stay in Dublin, as we only used it on day 3 to go out and see Malahide Castle. We stayed at Cashel Lodge, a great bed and breakfast run by Mary and Pat McManus. It was here I fell in love with the traditional Irish Breakfast of eggs, ham, black and white pudding (sausage really), and a cooked tomato, with toast and coffee. This was one of the great things about the B&Bs--we ate so much for breakfast that we could get by with a light snack and a Guinness for lunch. Cashel Lodge is a great place to stay, and one we would both recommend.

Following our friend's advice, however, we arrived in Dublin and drove to our B&B to drop our stuff off, then got on the bus (Cashel Lodge is crucially located along a bus route, a "must" for us, along with having free Wi-Fi) and headed straight for Dublin Castle, Trinity College (to see the Book of Kells), and then over to Christ Church Cathedral for a tour around the abbey, including seeing Strongbow's effigy (read your Irish history). From there we went over to the Chester Beatty Library/Museum, which has some of the oldest Bible manuscripts in the world and a diverse collection of artifacts and interesting exhibits (including one while we were there profiling the surprisingly large Sikh community in Ireland).

Day 2
The second day we went to see the greatest tourist attraction in all of Ireland: The Guinness Storehouse. While somewhat gimmicky, this is an amazing museum, of sorts, for all things Guinness. We found out how it's made, why the location was chosen, and all of the ingredients that go into making Guinness (well... almost all of them, still some trade secrets). There is an amazing "Sky Bar" at the top where you can get a pint of Guinness and look out over all of Dublin, the best view in the city, in fact. Apparently they have a new app, which I didn't get to try, but looks pretty cool. Don't pass up learning how to pour the "perfect pint" while you're there at their educational bar, it's not as easy as it looks, and you'll always be able to tell your bartender whether or not they do a good job. The Dublin Pub in Dayton is the only place in the area I know that prides itself on actually doing this the right way.

The Guinness Storehouse wasn't our first stop that day, however. We took the bus down to the National Museum of Ireland, which (among other things) tells the long and troubled history of the Independence of Ireland. Knowing the history of Ireland beforehand made this stop well worth it (which, because the museum is free, only costs your time and bus fare). There are so many exhibits here (many totally unrelated to Irish history) that this was a no-brainer stop. There's also a great little cafe in the museum where we stopped for lunch and tea, and a nice outside seating area where you can have a great deli sandwich and sit and enjoy the architecture of the museum, which used to be the Collins Barracks and has seen more housing of troops throughout its history than artifacts. There's a great scene of the British leaving Ireland at this very museum in the movie Michael Collins, a great movie for an intro to the history of the independence movement in Ireland.

That afternoon we took the Laus over to St. Stephen's Green, a beautiful park in the heart of Dublin close to the shopping district and Temple Bar. Don't miss walking over the historic Ha'Penny Bridge, or checking out the many street performers who like to frequent the area.

We ended the night at ONeill's Bar and Restaurant, less flashy than the famous Temple Bar, but a great pub where you can get bangers and mash, a pint of Guinness, and hear some great live music. This was the kind of pub we were looking for when we came to Dublin. Finding the right pub for you is another useful service that provided by the Lonely Planet app.

Day 3
Our last day in Dublin we were traveling up North to the UK (not part of the Republic of Ireland-read your history and bring some British Pounds). Before we left, however, we managed to head out of Dublin city a bit to see Malahide Castle, a beautiful estate that began when Richard Talbot accompanied Henry II to Ireland and stayed in the family until 1975, although with a brief change in ownership after Cromwell's invasion when he handed it over to Miles Corbet. It's now operated by the Irish State, although as of January 2012 was under renovation, so check the website before visiting.

Before leaving Dublin we went to St Michan's Church, where you can shake hands with a Crusader's mummy and see Edmond Burke's baptismal, and then had lunch at the Jameson Distillery, where I found my favorite whiskey drink: a "hot whiskey."

Hot Whiskey
Shot of Jameson
Hot water
Two sugar cubes
Lemon wedge with cloves in it

Our last stop was the beautiful St Patrick's Cathedral, which is a must-see stop. It's almost like visiting a museum, and be sure to take a picture with Jonathan Swift, who used to be the dean of the cathedral.

Next stop: Tobermore.

Planning

Obviously a trip overseas takes a lot of planning, and as this was the first one we'd taken together, we did a lot of it. We started early (over 6 months before we left) by gathering books-both informational and inspirational-finding flights and places to stay, renting a car, and figuring out our top locations that we wanted to visit. We came up with a list of things we really wanted to see, then came up with a strategy of seeing those things. Below is a list of the tools we used during the planning stages.

Websites we used

Vacation in Ireland (official tourist site for Ireland): This website is actually a really useful website. We used it to search for B&Bs, which we stayed in exclusively during our stay. Spend a lot of time browsing the site, and also ask them to send you a B&B package (for free) that will help you choose which ones you want to stay in. It's also got a great trip-planning feature to save all of the places you want to stay in and things you want to see. Definitely recommend it.

Kayak.com: This is a great website for finding the cheapest flights and rental cars. We used this to book both.

Books we read (from the library)
Rick Steves' Ireland Rick Steves is a must-have for travel, and always has great tips. We used this to help to know what to expect in the different places we wanted to stay, as well as the best times to go to different places (like when the Guinness Storehouse is the least crowded).

Rebels of Ireland by Edward Rutherford is a great read (according to Amanda-I didn't get around to this one) for people who like to read historical fiction. It's always nice to know a little bit about where you're visiting though!

How the Irish Saved Civilization is a great book (with only a slightly inflated title) that taps into the character of Ireland and highlights some of the historical narrative of the Irish people in the "isle of saints and scholars." Entertaining, informative, and easy to read.

I Never Knew That About Ireland makes great bathroom reading before the trip, and was actually a useful one to take along with us. Broken down by province, it has a lot of interesting tid bits that make a tour guide redundant. It was a Christmas gift that turned out to be more informative than I had hoped.

Brendan is another historical fiction book about St. Brendan which tells the (possible) story of his trip to North America, with the history and mythology surrounding St. Patrick interwoven into the story. Another of Amanda's recommendations. In a later post I'll show a picture from our visit to the spot that he set sail from on the Western coast.

Apps we downloaded
The first time we went I didn't have an iPhone, but on our trip to the UK this summer I plan on getting it activated for use in the country, primarily for Google Maps Mobile. In Boston this last summer this app was a lifesaver, giving us the quickest route times for buses and trains and allowing us to leave the car at the hotel our entire stay. We did, however, have an iPod, on which I downloaded the Dublin Bus app (now available for free) and got around quite easily using public transport in Dublin, although Google Maps may make this app irrelevant now.

If you're going to be staying any length of time in Dublin, I recommend Lonely Planet's Dublin app, which will give you a great descriptions of everything from great pubs to which museums are the most underrated (here's a freebie: it's the Chester Beatty Museum). This app will also let you know which places are worth eating at and which ones are best bypassed. While we didn't go to Belfast, I'm sure the app they have for it is worth the $5.99 as well.

These are just some of the things you will want to use when planning your own trip. In the end we found that we wanted to go around the entire island, starting in Dublin and ending in Dublin. On the map we made a huge counter-clockwise circle, with a lot of stops along the way. Hopefully some of the following posts will show the benefits of our planning, while also saving you some of the research time that we've spent already!

Welcome

The purpose of this blog to to serve as a chronicle of the trips that my wife and I have taken while also helping others who like to travel freely. I started this blog as a way to help people who don't like the idea of the pre-packaged trips that you will hear from your AAA agent, but are concerned about the sometimes daunting amount of planning that can go into a trip. If you've ever tried to balance the questions "how do we make sure we get the best deal and see all of the things we want to see?" with the sentiment of not wanting to be stuck with the same people seeing the same things that everyone else on your 2-3 week tour will be doing, this blog is for you and us to collaborate. We'll share our stories with you, and maybe inspire you to share your stories as well. We can can share the things that worked and warn each other about the things that we'd do differently, but (most importantly) we can show each other what we did so that we can take each other's trips.

The first vacation I'll be taking you through is what I think was a pretty successful trip to Ireland in the summer of 2010. I'll take you through the planning stage, tell you about the books we used, where we stayed, what we saw, and how you can take a similar trip. Maybe you can tell us about the trip you took as well!